THE SERIES MANIA WRITERS CAMPUS
The International Series Mania Festival has established itself as the annual event dedicated to the TV series format for both the general public and the audiovisual industry, welcoming almost 40,000 spectators and 1,200 industry execs.
The 2018 edition will be held in Lille in northern France from April 27 to May 5 2018.
The event, in collaboration with its academic partners Emerson College and Paris College of Art, launched the SERIES MANIA WRITERS CAMPUS: a writing workshop dedicated to TV Series writers.
THE SERIES MANIA WRITERS CAMPUS is a week-long TV series writing workshop, conducted in English, editorially supervised by Lorraine Sullivan in collaboration with Emerson College (USA) and Paris College of Art (France) faculty. Sarah Treem and Martie Cook are the two main tutors, Sarah Treem is the co-creator, showrunner and producer of ‘The Affair’, Martie Cook has over 25 years of experience as a television writer and producer.
Participants will have the opportunity to meet and be mentored by experienced professionals and writers, to have dedicated workshops, masterclasses and development sessions on their projects. As showcase of the campus will be presented to the industry and projects will be pitched at the round tables pitching sessions.
The Series Mania Writers Campus will take place in two parts:
• Part 1: from April 27 to May 1st; workshops and sessions at La Plaine Images • Part 2: from May 2 to 4; industry meetings, conferences and round pitch tables at Lille Grand Palais Participants are also welcome to all scheduled festival events, which include a range of special screenings with exclusive premiere showings of brand-new episodes of some of the latest hit shows.
Participants lodging, workshop participation and festival attendance are covered. Participants are only responsible for their own travel costs to and from Lille and meal expenses.
A week-long writing workshop open to 20 European TV drama writers.
Intensive and high quality training.
The goal: support a new generation of European authors, able to meet the growing demand of the industry always looking for new talent.
Other partner schools
• FEMIS (Paris – France) • Le Conservatoire Européen d’ Ecritures Audiovisuelle (Paris – France) • Emerson College (Boston – USA) • Serial Eyes (DFFB, Berlin – Germany) • The London Film School (London – United Kingdon) • The Sam Spiegel Film School (Jerusalem – Israel) • Midpoint (Prague – Czech Republic) • Scuola Holden (Italy)
CURRICULUM
The SERIES MANIA WRITERS CAMPUS offers participants from Europe and the rest of the world a concrete understanding of the dramaturgic and narrative strategies used in successful TV series. Participants will have general lectures in the morning and work on their projects and have pitching training in the afternoon from 27th to 1st May. The focus on engaging specific audiences and understanding the needs of the industry will be an essential part of the training.
Over the course of one week, the Series Mania Writers Campus will function as an incubator, where writers will be able to work with their tutors and mentors and meet industry decision-makers.
As the programme involves top players with busy agenda, schedule is subject to change with last minute notification.
Part 1 April 27th to May 1st, classes and workshops at La Plaine Images
ADVANCED TV WRITING
Writing Pilots Tutor: Martie Cook Examines all aspects of creating and writing a dynamic television pilot that will attract content producers across a variety of platforms. Heavy emphasis will be placed on premise, story, characters, character relationships, structure, and the importance of incorporating the writer’s own voice/point of view.
Creating a Series Bible Tutor: Martie Cook Participants will discover how to compose a professional series bible to present to producers with their completed pilot script and plan their show with multiple seasons. Included in the discussion will be how to write an effective one-page pitch, creating compelling character breakdowns, and designing a brief but comprehensive-roadmap of future episodes that include both character and series arcs.
On Showrunning Tutor: Sarah Treem The skills writers need to develop to become a showrunner. Techniques, methods and management of the writers' room.
The Serial Form Tutor Nicola Lusuardi The lecture will focus on the serial specificity with dramaturgical tools and conception of storytelling.
Understanding the market Tutor: Lorraine Sullivan A strong emphasis will be put on the understanding of the market and the needs of the industry.
PROJECTS DEVELOPMENT Besides the practical and theoretical workshops about serial writing and storytelling the participants will work on their own projects. Tutors: Sarah Treem, Martie Cook, Lorraine Sullivan
PITCH TRAINING
Pitching practice Martie Cook, Sarah Treem, Lorraine Sullivan will work with the participants on their pitches to prepare for the round-table pitching sessions.
One-to-one pitching session Michaela Sabo will conduct one-to-one pitching sessions.
MASTERCLASS WITH CARLTON CUSE 1st May 5pm/ Nouveau Siècle/ Salle Québec The participants will attend a Masterclass organized by the festival for writers with Carlton Cuse as special guest.
Part 2 May 2-May 4, Séries Mania Forum at Lille Grand Palais
PROJECTS DEVELOPMENT Tutor Sarah Treem The participants will keep working on their projects in a workshop.
MENTORING SCHEME Each participant will be paired with a mentor, an established writer, director or producer. The concept of the participant will be sent to the mentor before the event. The participant will meet his/ her mentor for a one-to-one mentoring session during the forum and receive personalized feedback and general advice. Schedule about the meeting will be communicated to each participant individually.
INDUSTRY BREAKFAST Industry breakfast: Netflix The participants of the campus will have a dedicated breakfast meeting with Netflix executives: Kelly Luegenbiehl, Vice President of International Originals for Netflix Damien Couvreur, International Original Creative
THE SERIES MANIA WRITERS CAMPUS SHOWCASE 3rd May 1.45pm Sarah Treem and Martie Cook will present the campus, and the work being done. Participants will come on stage.
ROUND TABLE PITCHING SESSIONS 3rd May 2.45pm Following the showcase 3rd May , 2.45pm-3.45pm Each participant will have the opportunity to pitch their concepts to two industry players and receive feedback on their concept and pitching techniques.
NETWORKING EVENTS The participants will be able to attend networking sessions.
INDUSTRY FORUM AND FESTIVAL The participants are welcome to attend industry masterclasses, conferences and sessions organized by the forum and attend screenings organized by the festival.
TUTORS
LORRAINE SULLIVAN HEAD OF STUDIES & TUTOR Lorraine Sullivan began her career at Lionsgate in Los Angeles and then was responsible for French film acquisitions at CANAL + in Paris. In 2010, she moved to the UK and created the first London TV series festival. From 2013 to 2016, she was director of Serial Eyes and created the first European training course for writing and TV series production in partnership with the Berlin Film School, the London Film School and the Danish Film School. She also joined Frank Spotnitz to work for development at Big Light.
SARAH TREEM Sarah Treem is a celebrated television writer, producer and playwright. Treem is the co-creator and showrunner of the Golden Globe-winning Showtime drama THE AFFAIR. The series has received 4 Golden Globe nominations during its run, including wins for Best Television Drama, Best Actress in a Television Drama, and Best Supporting Actress in a Television Drama. Additionally, the show has received a Writer’s Guild nomination for Best New Series and was named a finalist for the 2016 Humanitas Prize.
Previously Treem wrote for and co-executive produced the first season of David Fincher's hit Netflix series HOUSE OF CARDS. She also wrote on all three seasons of the acclaimed HBO series IN TREATMENT. Additionally, Treem wrote and produced HOW TO MAKE IT IN AMERICA while under an overall deal at HBO.
In addition to her Golden Globe win for Best Television Drama for THE AFFAIR, Treem’s work has earned her nominations for the Humanitas Prize, Primetime Emmy Awards and four Writers Guild Awards, including two wins for New Series for HOUSE OF CARDS and IN TREATMENT.
Treem began her career in the theater, most recently writing WHEN WE WERE YOUNG AND UNAFRAID, which ran in summer 2014 starring Cherry Jones and directed by Pam MacKinnon. Her previous plays include A FEMININE ENDING, THE HOW AND THE WHY, EMPTY SKY, ORPHAN ISLAND, HUMAN VOICES and MIRROR MIRROR. Treem holds a B.A. and M.F.A from Yale University, where she has also taught playwriting. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her children.
MARTIE COOK Martie Cook has more than three decades of experience as a respected writer and producer of television and film. She has worked for ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS as well as for Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, and Universal Studios. Currently, she teaches film and television writing at Emerson College in Boston, one of the premier film schools in the United States.
A member of the Writers Guild of America West, Cook has written for hit television shows such as the top-ten Nielsen rated Full House, Rysher Entertainment's crime drama, One West Waikiki, the cult classic, Charles in Charge, and the nontraditional family comedy, Joe's Life. Most recently, Cook served as a consulting producer on a comedy pilot that she sold off a pitch to Warner Bros., Jerry Bruckheimer Television, and NBC.
As a writer/producer Cook’s credits include, Entertainment Tonight, America's Most Wanted, NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, Better Homes and Gardens and the PBS Emmy-award winning children's show Zoom. Her first dramatic screenplay, Zachary's Truth was a finalist in the prestigious Chesterfield Writers Film Program and in the Massachusetts Screenwriting Competition, before being optioned by Universal Studios. Her second screenplay, Hit & Run was optioned by Alan Barnette Productions at Universal Studios.
Cook is author of the critically acclaimed book, Write To TV: Out of Your Head and Onto the Screen, 2nd edition (Focal Press) used by professional writers, in college classrooms, and by budding writers alike.
Cook is the creator and director of Emerson College’s BFA in Comedic Arts, a first of its kind program in the United States. She is also the co-creator of Emerson’s low residency MFA in film and television writing.
Martie Cook’s current writing projects include a comedy pilot, Boomerang, and 66.6, a limited series thriller.
NICOLA LUSUARDI Since 1990, Nicola Lusuardi has been working as a playwright for several production companies and as a screenwriter, story editor and supervisor for television networks RAI, MEDIASET, SKY (In treatment italian version, Barabba, Il segreto di Thomas, La monaca di Monza). He also works as a script consultant and tutor in TorinoFilmLab-Interchange and Biennale College; and he teaches drama writing for tv series at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome. In 2010 he wrote the book “La Rivoluzione Seriale”, Dino Audino Editore, Roma.
MICHAELA SABO
Michaela studied at VŠMU (Bratislava / Slovakia), DAMU (Theatre Academy in Prague / Czech Republic) and UCLA (Los Angeles). She was a script reader for Czech Television (ČT) in years 2011 - 2012. In September 2014 Michaela moved to Berlin to be part of a Serial-Eyes program. gMichaela found her network during the studies and is currently living in Berlin. She is able to read and write in Slovak, Czech and English languages. She also speaks German. Michaela was part of the EPI European TV Drama Series Lab in the year 2013.
Apart from her own work as a freelance writer and creative producer (several projects in different stages of development, one TV series ready to be aired this fall and a feature film in production) Michaela is also cooperating with Midpoint TV Launch workshops as their pitching trainer. This year she also established cooperation with Serial Eyes as a pitching trainer.
2018 MENTORS
Caroline Benjo, producer, Haut et Court, France Piv Berth, producer, Apple Tree Productions, Denmark Charlotte Brandström, director, France David Caffrey, director, United Kingdom Sylvie Chanteux, writer, France Mar Coll, writer, director, Spain Carlton Cuse, writer, producer, United States Bryan Elsley, writer, United Kingdom Tony Grisoni, writer, United Kingdom Charlotte Joulia, writer, Belgium Øystein Karlsen, writer, director, Norway Tzvika Kertzner, writer, director, Israel Richard Kropf, writer, Germany Nina Laurio, producer, Solar Films, Finland Nicola Lusuardi, writer, Italy Helen Perquy, producer, Drama is not a crime, Belgium Ran Tellem, producer, Mediapro, Spain Veena Sud, writer, producer, United States
SERIES MANIA FESTIVAL Writers Campus
You will find here useful information regarding your accommodation and your stay. Your hotel is located near the train stations (Lille Europe and Lille Flandres).
Hôtel Lille Europe Village Festival at the Tripostal with Avenue Le Corbusier, 59777 Lille various events at night +33 (0)3 28 38 76 76 Check-in from 3pm Contacts : Check-out before 11am Rosy Deacon (from April 27th) La Plaine Images Writers Campus supervisor assistant 99 A Boulevard Constantin Descat, [email protected] 59200 TOURCOING + 44 77 93 53 63 89
Lille Grand Palais Yves Botella 1 Boulevard des Cités-Unies Forum coordination assistant 59777 LILLE [email protected] +33 (0) 7 86 84 47 42
Accreditation : you can enjoy the cheerful atmosphere and pick up your badge before the Forum, at the Tripostal. From May, 2nd to 4th, you can also get your badge directly at the accreditation desk of the Forum in Lille Grand Palais. The accreditation will give you access to :
• All professional session in Lille Grand Palais congress center (May 2-4, 2018) including: o The Pitching sessions (Co-pro Pitching Sessions, SeriesLab, Digital Pitches, Literary adaptations) o NPA/Le Figaro conference o European conference day on TV series o Panels, line-up, work in progress... • Video Library on site and online from May 2, 2018 • Forum Cocktail Party • Industry Who's Who and Talent Who's Who • Festival screening (April 27 - May 5, 2018) • The Village Festival (April 27 - May 5, 2018) • Networking events (invitation only)
Travel to La Plaine Images (April 27th-May 1st) : a shuttle will pick you up each day in front of Hôtel Lille Europe, and drop you off directly at La Plaine Images, and vice versa at the end of classes.
Information about the schedule : in the planning, the FORUM timetables are free. Besides, in addition to the planned networking sessions, you’ll be able of course to organize your own meetings. In order to do that, there will great spaces in Lille Grand Palais’ Delegate Hall and third floor (https://seriesmania.com/en/industry/the-venue).
The Festival venues : https://seriesmania.com/en/practical-infos/the-festival-venues
The Festival Programming : https://seriesmania.com/en/programmation/la-programmation
The European Project and Talent Forum Programming : https://seriesmania.com/en/industry/european-project-and-talent-forum